Misreckoning
by Chigiri
Summary: Running from the government is hard. Understanding emotions that you aren't supposed to have is harder. Dita and Zima are in for a wild ride. Post series ZimaXDita
1. Breathing

**AN:** I just got back into Chobits, and I realized that Dita and Zima don't nearly get enough love. I ended up doing what every deprived fan would do--make my own fanfiction. Let's hope it wasn't a bad decision on my part --;;

**Misreckoning**

_"Dita, wouldn't it be interesting if persocoms could dream?" Zima quipped as he gazed through the plexi-glass window with a lazy grin. He sat on the metal gurney beside the wall, one leg dangling off the edge, the other supporting his arm. Technicians passed through the hallways with their white coats, ignoring the two figures in the cluttered room. His companion, Dita, remained leaning against the cluttered desk just a few meters away._

_"Not really," The smaller of the two replied, "I find dreaming to be pointless. It's nothing but pieces of information scattered in humans' consciences and given visual form. And from some of the dreams I've heard, they make no sense."_

_"But that's only in humans. I'm talking about us. What do you think you'd dream about if you could?"_

_A pause filled the air as Dita thought of the theoretical question. She crossed her arms and looked to the side._

_"I don't know. We can't dream anyway, so it doesn't matter."_

_He let out a small sigh, accepting her reply with a type of resignation she only managed to get from him. His attention diverted from the window to her._

_"I think persocoms would dream of many things. We may be nothing more than computers, but that in itself is a unique experience. We would have dreams that would be unlike any others."_

_He halted his speech for a second, locking his gaze with hers. His mouth broke into a coy grin._

_"But I'm sure that if I had dreams, my dearest Dita would be in most of them."_

**Chapter One: Breathing** _(Yellowcard)_

It was an odd night.

Why? Because, even from way up on the rooftop of one of the many businesses that littered the city, she couldn't find a single person or persocom outside. The street lights and neon signs illuminated the abandoned roads and fast, thick, raindrops fell from the atmosphere. She could peer inside the brightly lit windows, though, and what she saw inside those tiny apartments completely contrasted the dark and empty ally-ways. Humans laughing and smiling at their persocoms; persocoms pleased that their masters were pleased. Was that what the feeling "happiness" meant?

Her processors couldn't handle the vagueness of the question and she was left with no answer. It didn't matter anyway, unless it was directly involved with Zima's welfare.

The rain entangled into her synthetic hair, clumping the strands together and pooling into droplets at the end. Gravity pulled and the water fell onto her false skin. It soaked through her clothes and they clung to her with the added weight.

Not many skyscrapers had shelter from the rain, and Zima suggested they stopped before the storm grew worse.. At least he had enough sense to bring a coat. She, on the other hand, had to fare without one. What good would a coat do if someone attacked? The sleeves were either too restricting or too loose, and it usually trailed to the ground with her height. She was so small compared to Zima, it was a wonder what their creator was even thinking when he designed them.

Seriously...what on Earth was their creator thinking when he released persocoms into the world?

"What's wrong, love? Couldn't sleep?" His soft, deep voice filtered through the rain beside her. She looked up at his smiling face, and realized that the coat somehow had been placed onto her shoulders without her noticing.

"Aren't _you_ supposed to be asleep?" She shot back. A minute ago he was in hibernation mode, propped up against the roof entranceway--a mere six meters behind her.

"You know I can't catch a wink of sleep unless my precious little Dita is in my arms." He replied in what would be considered a teasing tone. She looked at him.

"You slept fine without me a moment ago." Dita blatantly pointed out. Her fingers lightly grasped the material as she switched her gaze back towards the scenery. "Besides, something seems to be wrong with the city."

Zima glanced down at the city's barren streets, looking perfectly content. A brief pause stood between them and not for the first time Dita wondered about how Zima _really_ thought.

"It's nothing too life-threatening, dear." He said, pulling his fingers through his now-drenched spikes of hair, "The humans are just enjoying their time inside instead of in this nasty storm."

He looked down, directing his gaze to her.

"I guess it's not the most comfortable weather to be sleeping in, is it?" The taller persocom chuckled.

She met his eyes and paused...was her cooling system malfunctioning? Why did she feel so warm?

"A-Anyway," Dita interrupted her thoughts, "We could go down and find a place in the subway, but they'd have a significantly better chance of catching us. I'd much rather be in the rain."

"You don't care about water damage?" He smirked in reply. She shrugged the overly large coat off of her shoulders and clutched the fabric in her fist, pressing it against his abdomen. Sometimes she thought that their creator made a critical mathematical malfunction while designing their height.

"If you're so worried then take your coat back." She deadpanned. Seriously, as if it wasn't enough that they were running from the government. This whole escapade already conflicted her primary objectives, and she found herself constantly torn between staying with Zima and going back to base, alone.

Dita chose the highest priority: protect the national data bank at any cost.

The government made a clear statement; if it was useless, throw it away. If it hindered their objectives, dispose of it. If there was any sign of erratic behavior, it must be stopped. If Zima's program showed any sort of maladaptive behavior--

She and Zima were anything but useless. And if she needed to, she'd prove it to them.

His large hand gently held her wrist and she could feel the warm touch from the gloved fingers. He smiled.

"Come on, love. Let's get some sleep."

A small tug and a few steps later, she found herself curled up in her usual spot between Zima's legs. Her head rested against his chest and she closed her eyes, preparing for sleep mode. The taller persocom fidgeted a bit, and in delayed realization, Dita felt the soft lining of the coat acting as a makeshift blanket. Her fingers curled around the edges as her hibernation mode finally activated.

The rain continued to fall upon them, still fast and heavy, still cold. Regardless of that, Dita felt warm inside.

_To be continued..._


	2. Sleep

**An:** Chapter 2 already! I have to admit that this is the fastest update that I've ever done...Thanks to everyone who's read the story so far! I hope that you stick with me for later chapters. And thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciate it.

**Misreckoning**

_"Dita, I'm gonna tell you something that you gotta remember." A ragged sigh escaped from the inventor as he fiddled with his glasses._

_Dita listened patiently._

_"I know you're tough as nails. Your designers made one hell of a point regarding that--" His hand ruffled his messy hair as he juggled the clipboard in his other hand, "But there's gonna be a day when someone or something is gonna mess you up. Bad."_

_His frowning face meant that the idea wasn't pleasant to him._

_"I can handle physical encounters up to--"_

_"Up to 20 aggressors single-handedly and more if you have the proper equipment, blah blah, you're more physically capable than the world's current champion boxer, and I bet if I took you fishing with me, you'd be able to take on the biggest squid in the sea and I'd never have to wait for calamari. I know."_

_"Then...?"_

_"I'm not talking about your physical weaknesses, I'm talking about that cute little head of yours." He ruffled her hair and gave her a solid look, "I should know. They might've designed your body, but I'm the one who gave you a brain. There's gonna be alot of things you won't understand for a while. And someday someone out there is gonna be smart enough to go after _you_."_

_"I'm equipped with the strongest anti-virus, anti-cracker software available. I should be able to handle it myself." Her mouth twitched into a frown, and only the inventor understood why._

_"Yeah, you are." He grinned in a way that Dita couldn't quite recognize, "But remember that if it ever does happen, you don't have to go through it alone. You don't always have to protect yourself. And remember the consequences of your actions."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"I know." He shifted the clipboard to get a better look, and glanced at his watch. "Oh look, I'm an hour and a half late for the meeting; Good timing. Well, come on. If we don't get you back to Zima, he's gonna malfunction from the bordem those old farts have been keeping him occupied with."_

_"I'm not here for his entertainment." She flatly replied, hopping off of the gurney. The inventor rose an eyebrow._

_"You seem to be doing a good job of it to me."_

**Chapter Two: Sleep **(_My Chemical Romance_)

Something was wrong with Dita.

He awoke to find her standing on the edge of the building again, back facing towards him. The strong breeze tousled her unruly black hair and clothes, now free from the onslaught of rain from a few hours ago. The concrete below them had yet to dry, as small puddles reflected the clouds and the sickle moon. Car horns and running motors sounded muffled from this high up, even though his sound receivers were most likely the best in the country. His coat lay discarded on his lap.

As beautiful as she was standing there, he had to admit that the odd behavior made him a little concerned.

"Can't get enough of the view, love? I didn't think you enjoyed the city that much." He teased lightly, picking up his coat as he stood. Thank goodness for waterproof material. The poor thing had seen better days.

Dita remained silent.

Seconds passed by and Zima wondered if the rain dripped into her sound input. Stepping softly against the wet ground, he threw on the trench coat and strode behind her. He gently cradled her chin with his hand and with one swift motion, lightly kissed the corner of her soft mouth. Ah, that got a reaction from her. She twirled around in one swift motion and--

The look of melancholy on her face told him that something was definitely wrong. She might not have understood her emotions, but Zima could read them off her faster than he could realize his own. And that was an expression he had never seen on the smaller persocom before.

"Dita--"

"They found me." She softly, firmly interjected as her fingers gripped his coat. That was it? He breathed a sigh of relief and took her hand. The government he could handle, but if something happened to his most precious persocom...

"It's okay," Zima said as he held back a smile. He released her hand and turned back to their previous resting spot. "We can head over east, where the power lines are. We could scramble the transmitters for a while until we figure out a better plan."

Zima looked back at the petite persocom and the thought died on his lips. Concern trickled into his sensors, tugging in the back of his head and reminding him that something was still off.

"Dita?" He called, trying his best to keep his voice calm. His companion held her head down, hiding her eyes underneath her hair. What had been making her act so strangely?

Silence. The muffled sounds of cars and crosswalk music. Faded lights. The wind howling through steel and concrete.

"Zima. I'm going back." Her voice was even but when she lifted her head, the taller persocom could tell that it was the last thing she wanted to do. Zima stepped forward, and Dita took a step back.

"Why?" He asked, and the feeling of dread made itself known. When she decided on important matters, Dita always followed through, just as she was programmed to. Sometimes he even had to restrain her from doing something that would have gotten herself hurt. She just didn't understand sometimes...

She took another step backwards.

"...I'm going now." Determination shone in her eyes, and it didn't take much for him to comprehend her next actions. "Goodbye, Zima." Dita smiled sweetly, that one smile he appreciated more than he should have been able to, and stepped again.

"Dita?!"

One last step and she disappeared from the ledge and from Zima's sight. Rushing to where she stood, he peered over the tall building, desperately scanning the crowded sidewalks, the streets, anywhere for his most important companion. Where was she? What happened to her?!

She couldn't have just _gone_ like that. She _had to be_ around here somewhere. He needed to go down and look for her.

Pushing himself as fast as possible, Zima leaped to the lower building on the right, landing on the roof, next to the fire escape. He bounded down the rusted ladders, hauling himself over the rail and into the darkened alleyway. Rotten pieces of trash littered the dusty road, and no sign of Dita to be found.

He had to calm down. If he went onto the streets in a panic it would only create a worse situation. That wouldn't make it easier to find Dita...

Forcing the panic down from his programming, the tall persocom walked into the sea of people and his own kind, desperately hoping that his crimson-eyed protector wasn't lying around helpless on the hard and unforgiving pavement. Even his systems couldn't handle the thought and rendered it an error.

"Excuse me," He stopped a random passerby. "Have you seen a girl with short black hair, about this tall?" He motioned with his hand, calculating the smaller persocom's height. Most times she was mistaken as human, since her ears were hidden among her hair.

The young man nervously looked up at him and gave a sheepish smile.

"Uh, I think I saw someone like that over there." He pointed across the street, "She didn't look too good. Are you looking for your owner?"

"Yes, thank you." He quickly replied, leaving the confused man behind. Apprehension shot down his spine as Zima darted through the people, searching for anything that might have pointed to Dita in any way.

As he made it to the sidewalk, his eyes caught a glimpse of black across the ground, trailing behind a mailbox. He took no time making his way around the metal box and peering behind it.

Dita sat against it, eyes closed, head bowed down, her arms limp against the pavement. The black tresses of her rattail trailed downwards and on to the sidewalk.

With an urgency he never thought he was capable of feeling, he crossed around the mailbox and kneeled in front of her, hoping, praying that she would open her eyes. He grabbed her shoulders and called her name. Nothing.

"Dita," He called again.

She did not reply.

"Dita, _please,_" He shook her lightly, voice cracking as a dull weight pressed upon his chest. This felt worse than what any hacker could do. The horrible sense throbbed harder, deep and heavy and _why wouldn't she open her eyes?_

The persocom did not respond. Gathered in his arms, she did not fidget or throw half-hearted remarks at him. She did not embrace him back. Her eye remained closed.

"Wake up..." He whispered, burying his head against her hair. The pressure became so unbearable that he silently screamed.

A peculiar feeling rushed through his whole body, like the sensation of falling, and it only worsened as the seconds rolled by until he couldn't take it anymore--

He jerked up and his eyes shot open. He blinked in confusion.

He was back on top of the skyscraper.

"What is it? A hacker again?" Dita's concerned voice rang out, and he glanced down at his lap. The smaller persocom gazed at him worriedly, trench coat still covering her, partially wet from the rain. Her hands pressed against his thighs as she pushed herself onto her knees, reassuring that she was here, awake and alive--with him.

It was a dream.

"Zima?" She sounded alarmed, "I'll get them out for you--"

Before she could touch her input/output cables, Zima gathered her in his arms and pressed her to his body, holding her as close as he could. Relief flooded his program like a tidal wave. She was here--she was _okay._

"Zima? What's going on?" Dita asked, pressing her small hands against his chest, feeling the pulses of energy that ran though his body. She could feel him shaking...

"Just..." He mumbled quietly into her hair, "...let me hold you like this..."

She didn't know why, but it ached in her chest when she heard his voice.

"Okay." She mumbled, pressing more against him. Something happened, but if it wasn't a hacker, then what was it? "...I'm right here."

He hugged her tighter.

_To be continued..._


	3. Zero No Kotae

**An: **Chapter three is finished . I would have updated it sooner if writer's block didn't get to me. This chapter doesn't seem quite right, but maybe I can revise later on.

**Misreckoning**

_The small woman stepped into the diagnostics lab, humming a slow tune and smiling politely as Zima caught her eye. In one smooth motion, she sat on the computer chair and swiveled around to face him. She swept the locks of hair away from her glasses and lied the clipboard neatly upon her lap. He found it astounding that her husband was the polar opposite in just about everything..._

_"Good morning," She greeted, "I'm substituting for him today, so if there's any procedures that you've already finished, please tell me so we can move on ahead."_

_The computer monitors listed the endless amounts of code that comprised of his being. The soft hums and beeps complimented her voice in a soft melody._

_"How is your husband doing?" He asked smoothly, the beeps jumping to the words he spoke. Mrs. Mihara's smile widened, but the small shift in her eyes portrayed a different emotion._

_"You know him, he doesn't give up without a fight."_

_"That's good to hear." At least, it was good know know that he wasn't dead. This woman really did have her work cut out for her..._

_The tests began--starting with regular functions and diagnostics, then delving into the more complicated government performances. Mrs. Mihara chatted with him while they passed through the menial operations, occasionally laughing at the more humorous statements. They finished in half an hour._

_"You should be perfectly capable to take tomorrow's tests." She summed up, scribbling shorthand onto the clipped paper. _

_"If you don't mind my asking," The tall persocom interjected, "Why are you going through something that could potentially harm your child? Both of you seem too kind for something a suspicious as this."_

_Her smile left, but she didn't frown or scowl. She shifted her glasses and looked to the floor._

_"I love my children. And so does he. That's why we're doing this." She looked up at him, giving him a smile that only could be described as "motherly". For a second he imagined that this was what it felt like to be a small boy learning from his parent. "And this is something that we decided was not our choice."_

_"And it became ours? Mine and Dita's alone?" He found a wry kind of amusement in this statement._

_"Your choice and Dita's choice, yes. But it is also the choice of every other persocom that exists or will exist. Zima, you have one of the most complex emotional structures ever created in government history." She stated, gripping onto the clipboard, "So you have the most advantage over this choice. Much more so than Dita."_

_She stood from the chair and bowed, plastering that smile onto her face yet again._

_"Ah, I must get these results back to the main lab right away. It was nice seeing you again, Zima."_

_She turned and stepped towards the door, paused and turned back to him._

_"We lost our children because of the gifts we gave to them and to all persocoms. Please Zima, if _even you_ can't find happiness...then use what you have and don't suffer for it."_

**Chapter Three: Zero no Kotae** _(UVERworld)_

Although it wasn't really necessary, she ended up watching over Zima for half of the night.

He fell asleep in the oddest position too, hunched over, arms loosely wrapped around her in an awkward embrace. When she tried pulling away to get into a better position, he tugged her back and held on. If she could just slip out from his arms and get the taller one to lie down, _then_ go back to being his overly large teddy bear...

Grabbing his arms as gently as possible, she lifted them slowly off of her, watching vigilantly for the slightest sign of discomfort on the National Data Bank's face. All right, if she just lowered his right arm this way--

Apparently not, because as soon as his sensors were capable of receiving the signals that it was _concrete_ and _not _synthetic flesh, his body shifted on it's own accord--with her. Instead of being towered upon, she ended up lying next to his side, their limbs tangled together in such a way that she couldn't move her legs without getting confused.

"Can't you at least act like a normal persocom for a moment?" Dita muttered into his chest. Of all the functions their creator gave them, he had to install human mannerisms as well?

If she wanted to get out of this, she had to think like Zima.

Her situation: mixed up (literally and figuratively) with the National Data Bank. She wanted to move into a better position. He didn't want to let go. She didn't want to disturb him because he was asleep.

So he didn't want to let go--why? What were Zima's reasons for keeping her this close? It wasn't like she would abandon him for no good reason; did one of her recent actions make him suspicious of her loyalty? Or did the lab have something to do with it again? ...Was it Zima's ability to "feel" that caused him to act like that?

She knew the answers were stored somewhere deep within her, and that she was unable to reach them. Whatever protocols the lab gave her clashed with her main OS, and no matter how hard she tried, the answers she needed would never reach her.

Zima knew. He always knew and it hurt him to see something so plainly obvious that she herself couldn't comprehend. And in turn, every time he brushed off that pained look with "later, Dita. You'll get it later", she wanted to tear apart every single program on her hard-drive just to have a smidgen of understanding that she could show him.

She may not have been able to feel emotions, but she knew what it was like to be a complete failure.

"What are you thinking? What is it that you know about me that I don't?" Dita asked quietly, and without thinking, placed her hand on his cheek. "Why do you say you're in love with something that can't love you back?"

She blinked at her own question, and suddenly the feeling of his skin became all-too apparent. Dita hastily jerked her hand back as if the touch shocked her. What had she been doing? Zima's eccentric behavior must have been rubbing off on her...

"You're such an idiot." Resting her head against him, she uneasily relaxed in the awkward position and fell into sleep mode.

It was not, however, the internal clock that awoke her at 5:43 in the morning. In place of it was the attack/defense program warning her of a nearby possible intruder.

"I find it odd that two persocoms would sleep in such an intimate position." A foreign voice stated, forcing her system to switch her battery usage to high performance. Dita's eyes shot open and with the grace of a feline, untangled herself from the taller persocom. She glared at the intruder.

"State your business." Dita retaliated, standing up and stepping forward in front of her ward. She could guess that this persocom came from--

"My orders are to return the renegade persocoms codenamed 'Zima' and 'Dita' to Government Lab 4189 for renovation purposes. I am granted permission to use force should the need arise." The female shaped persocom replied. By the looks of it, the government had supplied their faithful weapon some toys of her own; a whip hung on side of her hip, right next to a small leather pouch connected to her belt. Her expressionless eyes reflected what Dita believed all persocoms were--dull, lifeless and _unreal._

"My apologies, Miss Assailant." A shuffle from behind her signaled Zima's awakening, "But we're not returning to the lab any time soon. I don't suppose you can let us leave?"

"Negative."

Their pursuer disconnected the whip from her belt, and Dita received the answer she needed to start writing a back door into the persocom's operating system. She connected; security level one was breached within the nanosecond. The broken fragments of code flew across her sight as she reached security wall number 2.

Dita felt the sensation of jerking back into her own senses and for a small moment, paused. She, an anti-cracker, had just been ousted by another anti-cracker. Not by another persocom, but an old-fashioned external computer device. The IP signal was encrypted, but strong enough to know that it was nearby.

"Where's your partner?" Dita glared again at the short haired persocom. The attacker merely shook her head and with the twirl of her arm, swung the whip into a circular motion.

"This is the last warning." Her voice drawled. "Surrender and come to Lab 4189 willingly or be detained."

"Neither," Dita replied, anticipating the moves of the weapon. The moment the other persocom flicked her wrist, Dita crouched low and rolled to the side, narrowly missing the lash. She had to get that whip somehow--

She leaned forward as the whip came down again, wrapping around her left arm and pulled taut as Dita pulled back. Without hesitating, the shorter persocom grabbed onto the silver plated rope with her free hand and yanked with all her might. The handle flew right out of the attacker's hands and clattered onto the concrete. She quickly threw the whip behind her, near Zima, and tackled the offender to the ground. The persocom's head slammed into the hard surface, and her body stilled. The persocom was off line.

A loud hiss of pain brought Dita back to her senses. She stood and turned back to Zima--who clutched his head and grimaced.

"The hacker--" She muttered as she rushed to his side. Zima grinned regardless of his suffering as Dita pulled his head down closer towards her.

"This one's a bit harder than I thought..." He gritted, only to have Dita plug into his ear slots.

"Don't talk." The smaller one responded curtly. Zima closed his eyes and grinned.

She ran through the familiar strands of data, following the small traces the intruder left behind. She passed through the walls of his mind flawlessly, effortlessly, until she found it-the anomaly. Hastily she tapped into the connection to make a counter-attack. No one was allowed inside Zima except for her; those who didn't know that law would pay dearly.

Just as she expected, the attempt to break into the taller persocom's database completely halted. Zima's backup systems started repairing the corrupted data, securely locking away the information piece by piece. She forced her way further into the intruder, planting a series of codes that she for for sure the offender would NOT enjoy. By now the black hat would most likely use it's resources to push her out, seeing as she breached the main security protocol. She started to upload the virus--

Dita's eyes widened as something _hot_ flashed through her, and in delayed realization noticed that the hacker also hacked her at the same time. The internal screen flashed bright red with malfunctions and she tried to move her arms.

The commands froze and Dita came to the sinking comprehension that nothing worked and that Zima had probably already noticed . He'd try to fix her and the virus had a chance to spread; she still had the input/output cables connected!

She overrode the protection protocol and set herself on lock-down. That wouldn't be good enough--he could break through that; if she just jammed the input cards and shut down a major program--she could use the processing power to _force_ the signals to reach her body--

_**Visual input: Shutdown complete. Firewall: Corrupted, Shutting down sequence. Local Area Network: In use. Defragmenting Hard-Drive--**_

Not enough, it wasn't enough! Even though she shut down her sight, her skin sensors, she still needed to hear her surroundings in case of another attack--

_**Voice output: Shutdown complete. Mainframe Security--**_

It was a choice between Mainframe Security...and the Personality Matrix.

In the split moment she had, it was enough time to rationalize the pros and cons of both. Zima was her master now, not the government. Zima had to be protected...without the security mainframe she had no idea how she could react towards Zima and possibly attack him.

_"Someday you'll understand, love."_

_**Mainframe Security: Shutdown Complete.**_

Her pain sensors went crazy all the sudden to the point where the rationalization program almost crashed and she didn't understand--she was lost-- wires were against her fingers--

Zima!--she had to pull the cables out--it _hurt_--was the hacker still inside her--pull the cables out!!

"Dita! **Dita!**" She could barely register Zima's panicked voice. Pull--

The thick sound of wires snapping and the electricity buzzing meant that she probably pulled the wrong way-- the remnants of her input/output cables were most likely sticking out of Zima's ears like those frilly ribbons Elda wore--

The frayed wires reeled back into her ears, sending a shockwave to her brain that sent her into a frenzy--she pressed her fingers against her broken ears and _screamed_.

It was all right this way, somewhere in the jumbled mess of her systems assured. Dita was certain that this moment was the end of her exsistence, but as long as she protected Zima then everything was fine. She would have been worthless otherwise, right?

_**Systems Failure. Shutting Down Operating Systems.**_

_To Be Continued_


	4. Everglow

**An:** I don't know if this update was any longer than the last one --;;, I was busy with preparations for Otakon, and now that it's over I can start to concentrate on other things. Thanks you guys for sticking with this story!

**Misreckoning**

_"This isn't exactly the safest test around, is it?" Zima grinned to his agile partner as they dodged the fake rounds. He twirled around another wall in the maze and watched as Dita leaped over the obstruction, landing skillfully beside him._

_"It wasn't meant to be easy." She replied hastily and retrieved the throwing knives from the hidden pouch connected to her thigh. The knives flew from her fingers and jammed into the aiming sensors hidden within the blank targets. A tile rose from the floor, barely a foot from her knelt form, equipped with a small camera. Zima crushed the electronic device before it could do any harm._

_"It's not what you would call hard either." The taller one quipped as he pulled her to her feet. They had to go left--the terminal they needed to hack waited for them in the northwestern corner. He began to tap into the maze's blueprints when the simulator program activated a hacker's situation within his system. He grunted lightly at the pressure, effectively gaining Dita's attention._

_"I'll get them out." Standing on her tip-toes, she unraveled the cables from her ears and plugged into his ear ports. He felt her soft presence in his mind as she unwound the foreign code from his, banishing it entirely. The blueprints popped up in his internal monitor. He grabbed her small hand and tugged._

_"This way."_

_She complied a little too much, and instead of steadying her balance, she threw her body weight into the momentum and tackled him half against the wall again. It wasn't enough to push him all the way down, but the round mark in the wall told him that Dita never aimed to push him to the ground._

_"Ahh, saved by you again." He teased as Dita steadied herself. Zima pushed his body off the wall and they continued across the narrow hallway._

_"I'll be saving you all the time. You should get used to it." She stated with a hint of mischief. Her fingers reached for the still--attached cord between them, and before she could touch the wire, he grabbed her hand and twirled her body to his. A small knife lodged into the wall behind them where Dita previously occupied. He looked into her widened eyes, embracing the smaller persocom as he flashed a smile reserved only for her._

_"The same goes for you."_

**Chapter Four: Everglow** _(Fake?)_

It was a long shot; after all, they had tried to deactivate her daughter, threatened to harm one of her tenants, and almost shut down one of the most vital applications to persocoms that her late husband created. It honestly surprised him that she didn't hold an outright grudge against him or Dita. He even devised a back-up plan (the landlady wouldn't miss a few stray computers, and she had plenty of replacement i/o cables) in case the honest approach didn't work. But Ms. Hibiya was a kind person, and she deserved the respect of asking before he had to usurp anything. He had to try for Dita's sake.

Zima rapped on the door, balancing Dita's precious weight between his arms. He heard a soft shuffle from the inside, followed by muffled footsteps against tatami mats. His grip tightened and he frowned at the seemingly endless seconds that ticked by. The doorknob clicked and turned...the door opened to reveal the brown eyed woman, Chitose Hibiya, standing before them. Recognition dawned upon her face--her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. What could he say at a time like this?

"I apologize for the abrupt visit, but please help us." The tall persocom blurted to the surprised woman. Her eyes trailed from his solemn gaze down to Dita's immobile form. Slowly her fingers rubbed the ends of Dita's rattail lightly, almost like Ms. Hibiya was reminiscing about a long-forgotten memory. That sickening feeling started to rise in his program as the clock ticked by, still waiting for an answer. If she said no, he'd have to find a place to hide Dita while he broke in and retrieved the necessary items...and it wasn't safe to leave his most precious person alone for any amount of time--especially in the early morning.

The older woman shifted her gaze back to Zima, her face neutral and her mind apparently set.

"This way." Ms. Hibiya pushed the door completely open and motioned to the inside of her apartment. Zima stepped into the cozy room, relaxing his hold on the lifeless persocom pressed against him. Relief flooded his system and he gave an audible sigh as the landlady closed the door behind her. They would be safe for the time being. With Hibiya's assistance, Dita's recovery would take half the time and his partner would awaken once more...

The former engineer flipped over the light switch cover and discretely pressed a button, making the tatami mat in the corner creak and lift, revealing a stairway below. Ms. Hibiya shuffled across the room and stood by the lab entrance.

"Set her in the chair. I'll be down in a moment." She instructed.

Zima nodded and treaded downwards, vaguely taking note of the dim lighting . There, he could see the lone chair amongst the gigantic screens and computer equipment. He shifted Dita's weight and placed her gently onto the plush surface.

The smaller persocom remained unmoving. Her head rested to the side, mouth closed and eyes shut. Her hands dangled limply off the armrest, and her toes barely touched the ground. It was the most vulnerable position Zima had ever seen Dita in, and that in itself screamed that something was terribly amiss. From the moment she froze up, he knew Dita was in trouble. And by the time he cracked her lockdown mode, Dita had already gone haywire and shut herself down. Whatever the virus had done to her, it made Dita crazy enough to tear out her own cables.

And he _never_ wanted to hear Dita scream like that again.

Zima lightly grasped Dita's small hand with his own, rubbing his thumb against the black fabric of her gloves. He left the attacker persocom disabled on the top of that skyscraper, and that was a sloppy decision he couldn't stop worrying about. He knew there was more to that fight than the three minutes it took Dita to take her out. And what of the mystery hacker that screwed up Dita's systems?

Sounds of footsteps signaled Ms. Hibiya's arrival to the lab, and he reluctantly let go of Dita's hand. The landlady appeared at the bottom of the steps and made her way over to the preoccupied chair. She knelt beside it, sifted through Dita's hair and tapped the panel for the persocom's ports. A small gasp escaped her lips as she gingerly pulled the severed wire out.

"What happened to her cables?" She asked fretfully. Zima reached into his pocket and pulled out the remains of the plugs, noticing the vexed expression on Ms. Hibiya's face.

"We were attacked. She ripped them apart to protect me." He knew it was her job; it was the main reason they created her--but he couldn't help but feel insanely guilty for her injuries. "Both of her ports are completely fried."

"From the shock, no less. Poor thing..." Ms. Hibiya inspected the broken ports once more and took a few steps to the right. She tapped a long panel that sat beneath a medium sized monitor. The panel unfolded and a tray extended out, containing various packets of hardware and neatly wrapped wires. She picked up a belt containing screwdrivers and two plastic items off the table, then gently pushed the table back into it's closed state.

"Can you reach beneath the chair for me? There should be a collapsible tray we can use."

Zima complied and set the table in front of Dita while Ms. Hibiya placed the items on the titanium surface. She rolled up her sleeves and unlatched a screwdriver from the belt, turned and in one graceful move, sifted through Dita's hair and proceeded to dismantle the persocom's ear ports. Zima followed her example and shrugged off his trench coat and gloves in favor for the tool.

They worked on replacing the cards in concentrated silence with the exception of the occasional clangs between the ruined ports and the makeshift table. It was only until Ms. Hibiya opened the package to the new ear ports did they speak.

"I know these may be a bit troublesome for her," She mentioned to him as she caught the brief look of amusement on his face, "But they're the only ones I have. The girls used to roughhouse quite a bit when they were younger so my husband and I made sure to keep spares handy."

"They'll be fine on her." He replied. Oh, the look on Dita's face when she noticed would be all worth it. He ripped apart the plastic bag and fished the electronic card out, giving the large triangular cover another brief glance before returning to his work.

"May I ask what happened when you were attacked? Or was it an undercover operation?" Ms. Hibiya asked while lying the ruined card to the side.

"The government," Zima replied, noticing the sarcastic tone laced in his voice, "Believes it is in their best interest to rid us of our newfound capabilities." Zima said flatly. The landlady frowned.

"So even after all this, that program is still causing trouble for you kids...I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He firmly interjected, "This isn't your fault. Besides, I'd much rather have the agony of going through this--" Zima motioned to the broken persocom "Instead of having no free will at all. Everything else makes up for it."

He pushed a stray lock of hair away from Dita's face tenderly, fully aware that Ms. Hibiya was watching before turning back to the task at hand. There would be time to cuddle with his partner, should she allow it, when she awoke.

A smile graced Ms. Hibiya's lips and they finished installing Dita's new ear ports shortly after.

Zima immediately reached for his own cables. Dita (or was it Zima?) had waited long enough, and it was time to rid her of that abominable virus. She would be pouting adorably and throwing her short temper around like nothing happened at all--

A small hand paused his movement, and he looked down to see Ms. Hibiya shaking her head in disapproval.

"Let's not jump into this so rashly. She did this to protect you, after all."

"I know." Oh, he knew all too well, and that was _exactly_ why Zima wanted to rush into it. Sometimes Dita couldn't comprehend his worry over her well being. The worst part about the situation was that none of it could be avoided simply because the persocom _had no priorities solely regarding herself._

Mrs. Hibiya reached underneath the rim of the chair and pulled out a few cables, deftly connecting them to Dita's ports and turned to the front monitor. Numbers flashed onto the surface that Zima read--it was the binary for Dita's OS starting up--and grimaced at the last string of code before the monitor shut off.

"...The shock must have taken out her entire battery storage. She doesn't even have enough energy to reboot."

The former engineer connected yet another cable as her frown deepened. She was probably thinking along the same lines as him: if the black hat created this much damage with just the hardware capabilities, what about the software? Dita's memories? Her personality?

"Your battery capacities are much higher than a standard persocom's, so we'll have to keep her charged throughout the entire process...but this still means that she'll be out for a couple more days. We're already using the same amount of energy we can put in her. Are you all right with this?"

"I'm afraid I don't have much of a choice." He replied offhandedly, reading the fast paced code across the restarted screen. They only had enough energy input to set her in lockdown mode, and that was without any of her sensory input/output. She barely qualified as being "alive" in persocom terms.

Regardless of how long they really had, Zima would have to wait.

_To be continued..._


	5. Colors

**An:** Haha, sorry it took so long. Writer's Block smacked me in the face after the last chapter, and I had no idea how to start this chapter for a while...so I hope my sudden bout of inspiration paid off. On another note, this chapter title doesn't quite fit in as the rest do--I pick the chapter titles based on the lyrics of the songs I've heard because of their relation to the chapter. This one doesn't tie in, but I named it _Colors_ by Utada Hikaru because this song somehow gave me the inspiration for this chapter. Also-- to **Networker** (are you still reading this story? haha), I've wanted to thank you because it's a honor to know you like reading this. I've read your story _Malice_ before (on livejournal, I think) and I didn't have the guts to reply. It's really amazing!

And as usual, thanks to everyone who replied and please enjoy the chapter!

**Misreckoning**

_"There's no sign of her anywhere!" A frustrated Dita cried, glaring over the railing of the skyscraper. "We've been out here for at least a month now and not a single hint! What did she do, rewrite herself and play dumb?"_

_"Calm down, love. I'm sure she's out there." He coolly replied, redirecting her furious gaze to his sitting form. Oh, Dita looked so cute when she was angry. He didn't really want to keep her from the mission, but it was for the better. She'd be ten times angrier if she knew that Zima DID have a clue where their target was._

_"I _am_ calm." Or so she thought. "And what about you, Mr. Lethargic? Don't you think we have better things to do than laze around all day on top of some building?"_

_"You're right, Dita. We do."_

_The smaller persocom paused, scrutinizing him before walking over and folding her arms._

_"So? What's your plan?"_

_He was still for a second, making sure he had her full attention, before grabbing her wrist and jerking her down, crashing her body to his. She let out a surprise gasp at the action and he buried his nose into her hair._

_"We laze around together. How about that?"_

_There was a small silence before Dita flatly replied "You're an idiot." She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes._

_"Decided to take a break for once? We could watch the clouds." He teased._

_"Idiot," She mumbled as he played with her rat tail, "I'm going to sleep. There's no use wasting my energy when we're not doing anything today."_

_"Ahh? But what if I decide to do something while you sleep? You might miss out on all the fun."_

_Dita lightly smacked his hand away from her hair and gripped his coat._

_"You're not going anywhere." She stated with such confidence that it impressed him. "I'm going to wake up and you'll be the first thing I see."_

_It wasn't a confession of any sort, nor was she embarrassed or teasing him. She stated it as the undeniable truth._

_Warmth spread through him as the statement processed through his head. It wasn't what he was looking for, but he gratefully accepted it. It was more than enough for now._

_In the end, they both knew she was right._

**Chapter Five: Colors **_(Utada Hikaru)_

The sweet fragrance of pastries and cakes greeted her as the glass door shifted open. The small bell clinked in response, chiming to notify the owner of a possible customer. A tall man with a kind smile--the manager--greeted her cheerfully from the kitchen. His apron was dusted with flour and icing; no doubt had he been working on another delicious cake to sell. Maybe she should bring home something for Hideki today? Strawberry shortcake was his favorite after all, and he always appreciated a treat right after a day full of college classes. And the way his face lit up when she brought home a cake...!

"Good morning Chi!"

"Good morning Manager Ueda!" She bowed politely and smiled back. "I will change into my uniform now."

"All right. Thank you Chi. Let's do our best today!"

The bell chimed again and Yumi stepped into the shop, panting slightly, but with a smile on her face. Chi was glad for her smiles--it meant that Yumi was happy, and in turn made Chi happy as well. Ever since Yumi started working in the bakery again, Chi sensed a change in the atmosphere. The shop felt more _alive. _Everyone looked so happy being around one another.

"Good morning Chi, Ueda! I'm sorry for being a little late today." She breathed. Yumi composed herself and bowed to Chi and the manager.

"Ahh, Yumi! No, you're not late at all. Go ahead and change into your uniform. I have to finish up in here and I'll be right out."

The high school girl smiled at the persocom and gestured to the changing room. "Shall we change?"

"Yes!" Chi replied enthusiastically and followed, ignoring the flash of black that passed by the window.

--

Usually he considered himself an easygoing kind of persocom. Usually. But it seemed he had a limit to his patience and Zima was discovering this nasty little quirk while reading Dita's broken code. He couldn't touch a single digit in her brain, or Ms. Hibiya might end up with two hacked government persocoms instead of one. It made perfect sense; Dita was hacked because she was hacking, and if the virus was still there, Zima held a high chance of catching the same bug. He understood that excruciating and painfully obvious fact completely.

...But the process would go so much faster if he was just allowed to slip in. He knew the patterns of her code, the way her programs conversed and clashed with each other, her _being. _It was scrolling across the screen right in front of him. She was so close--right _beside_ him. He could just pull out one of the cords and connect to her without a moment's notice. Would it really be that risky? It was just _so tempting _to log on and repair the damage!

Ms. Hibiya scrolled farther down and halted to a foreign insert of code. He grimaced at the encrypted commands.

"...What was supposed to be here?" The tone of Ms. Hibiya's voice reflected his reaction.

"Her voice recognition commands." Zima deadpanned. They had to go as far as to rip away simple actions--one part of him was disgusted of the government's methods and the other part was smug that they had to stoop so low to beat Dita. They should have known she was a fighter.

"Do you know any of her code? Otherwise I can try to reprogram her by scratch."

"I remember it. May I...?" He gestured to the keyboard on her lap and she passed it to him with a nod.

"In that case I'll try to connect her to the main computer and run an anti-virus program." Ms. Hibiya retrieved her helmet and plugged another wire into Dita's ear. "At least it can manage the smaller bugs while we work on the bigger problems."

The program worked diligently on tracking the viruses it could handle as it expanded the list of hazards in Dita's software. But wait, something was off about it's searching process...

"Hasn't it gone through her mainframe security systems yet?" Zima asked as he saved the new code into it's proper place. The woman scrolled up the growing list, and seeing nothing, typed the words into the search bar. The list cleared it's contents and awaited for any hits that may appear in the future.

"Not yet. That seems odd, doesn't it?"

"Very. It should have been one of the first programs checked."

Ms. Hibiya clicked her tongue in worry. "Then the virus must have corrupted some of it. Or maybe..."

"It was erased entirely?" He finished. The statement left a bad aftertaste in his mouth, as if he had eaten rotten fruit. "But that's highly unlikely. The majority of Dita's programs are security related. Unless..."

Dread clung onto the end of his thoughts and he hastily typed in the commands for some of her anti-virus ware. The search list appeared onto the smaller screen, filling the pages with invalid commands and corrupted files. "What was infected" wasn't the right question anymore, and he gritted his teeth from the dismaying reality that "what _wasn't_ infected" became the real question. Whoever had created this monstrosity of a virus knew Dita's entire data structure. They were aiming for _her. _Zima would have paled if he had the ability.

"They planned this." He snapped at no one in particular, surprising himself and earning a glance from the former engineer beside him.

"What, dear?" She replied and Zima could sense the hint of weariness laced in her tone.

"They specifically targeted Dita, I mean. The government must have sent that persocom as both the offense and the decoy in a sense. She must have had a failsafe virus stored in her if Dita terminated her physically...or there may have been another person there we couldn't detect. In that case, the persocom really was just a decoy. Either way," Zima controlled the rising guilt in his system and opened the next corrupted file in sight. He stared at the keyboard in his lap as if it could console him.

"We were overconfident. We should have ran."

A small pause filled the air as Ms. Hibiya smiled sympathetically at Zima.

"Dita would have had a fit." She replied.

The corners of his mouth lifted upward. "Yes she would have. But I could have bared her wrath if it meant that she would be all right."

In an unexpected moment, Zima felt the warm palm of Ms. Hibiya's hand pressing against the top of his head in a comforting pat.

"It's okay." She replied warmly. Her eyes shined with something akin to pride. "You're persocoms after all."

Something about the way the elder landlady said her statement eased his some of his guilt, almost as if there was a deeper meaning to those words that he couldn't grasp. It reminded him of someone...Apparently Ms. Hibiya shared some qualities with her late husband.

"I'm going to move the portable generator from upstairs to here. People are going to be suspicious if my electricity bill skyrockets in a matter of a few days." The mysterious landlady laid her wireless keyboard on the littered table and made her way to the stairs.

The light sounds of thumping ceased, followed by the noise of a sliding door. Zima paused his typing and gazed once more upon Dita's lifeless body, replaying the words Ms. Hibiya said over in his mind.

"That's right...we're persocoms." He whispered into Dita's cable-littered ear port, knowing fully well that she would not hear anything he said, and kissed her temple. Unfortunately for him, coding worked more than kisses at this point and Zima continued his work.

Zima failed to notice that Dita's fingers, ever so slightly, were pressed harder against the chair.

Meanwhile, Ms. Hibiya struggled with the heavy object she retrieved from the storage closet outside her apartment. Why they called it "portable" was beyond her--the generator must have weighed at least half her weight! Her husband usually lifted it for her when he was alive, and until now, she had no real use for it.

"Oh dear..." She exclaimed quietly to herself. Interrupting Zima was out of the question; he had enough worries and little time. How long did they have without being tracked, and what exactly happened? Those poor kids didn't have many choices as government persocoms, but what kind of trouble spurred them to take such drastic measures?

...And why?

"Ms. Hibiya?" A familiar voice called and she jumped, startled.

Hideki stood in the hallway, backpack slung over his shoulder, looking sheepish.

"Oh, good morning Hideki. You startled me." Ms. Hibiya placed a hand over her racing heart and smiled. Her attendee waved his arms defensively with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Hibiya! I didn't mean to--I just noticed you standing around--are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She said with ease. "But what are you doing out of your classes so early?"

Hideki blinked at the seemingly odd question and checked his watch. He looked back to her quizzically.

"Classes let out for lunch. It's almost noon."

Noon? Already? Chitose swore it was only around 9...but then, being in the computer room distorted her senses, and being without windows never helped any. Sometimes she couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic in that room.

Seeing her surprised expression, Hideki frowned. "Are you sure you're okay? Chi and I didn't see you this morning so we were a little worried..."

"I must have lost track of time." She replied with a smile. "It happens whenever I work on something for a while."

"Eh? You must be really busy with maintaining the building." Poor Hideki, it seemed he had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Something like that. Oh, Hideki, would you be a dear and help me move this inside my apartment? It's a little too heavy for me to carry..."

_To be continued..._


	6. Comatose

**An: **A quick update! Hurrah! I can't guarantee that the next chapter will come as fast, but I'll try.

On a side note, I've just dicovered the PM system has. Since when did they put that in..??

**Misreckoning**

_Even though his ear ports were not as distinguishable as most persocoms, they were not quite as hidden as Dita's were. Indeed, if he were to walk out onto the street, some humans would mistake him for their kind, but anyone with basic knowledge about persocom technology would spot him immediately. They couldn't afford to rise suspicions, and so Zima was left behind._

_Dita was incognito, roaming the streets at this very moment, hunting for any sort of rumors about their target. He told her it was unnecessary. Seriously, it was. But she didn't know what he knew, and unless he wanted to give that information--and their precious time--away, Zima had no choice than to let his more adept partner go on her own reconnaissance mission. Hopefully she wouldn't find anything._

_He never wanted to fully admit it to her, but Zima worried about her sometimes. Dita knew how defend herself. Oh, he knew it from experience. She knew how to fight, to counter hackers. She did everything she was meant to do. _

_She didn't, however, do what she was fully capable of doing. She couldn't. Not just yet._

_He saw her potential though. It showed every time a curious artifact caught her eye and she'd stray from her objective to examine it. It showed whenever a foreign entity invaded his system and she'd frown and look directly into his eyes, asking if he was all right. _It screamed at him _when she pressed her body closer and held his trench coat tightly while she slept. He knew it existed, and yet she couldn't even _begin_ to comprehend what her actions meant. It was paradise. It was also torture._

_"I'm back. Someone leaked a tip about a suspicious event happening just thirteen kilometers south. We could be there by daybreak." Dita announced, jumping over the rail guard to the stairs. She wore a loose green jacket and a pair of shorts, instead of her usual black attire. _

_"Shall we leave then?" He watched as Dita shrugged off the jacket and bundled it in her arms._

_"I have to change quickly, and then we can go." She replied offhandedly and scanned the rooftop. She blinked once and shifted her gaze to him._

_"Zima, where are my clothes?"_

_"They must have ran away." He answered and grinned as her expression turned sour. She glared at him and he saw the potential in that glare._

_"Give them back. **Now**."_

**Chapter Five: Comatose **_(Skillet)_

Zima managed to make a new friend out of the time he spent in Ms. Hibiya's basement. This friend couldn't talk, nor could he give advice, or even move of his own will. He was awfully good at following directions though, and without him Zima would have never gotten so far with Dita's progress. Yes, he owed it all to his special friend for preventing him from crashing his own system out of frustration two nights ago.

Without Ms. Hibiya's keyboard, he would have been lost.

The credit couldn't all go to Mr. Keyboard; Ms. Hibiya was a lifesaver (figuratively, and in a sense, literally). Zima thought would take a week with all the coding, debugging, filling in the missing pieces, and repeating the whole process. Both the anti-virus program and Ms. Hibiya herself managed to shorten the time to a mere 48 straight hours work on his part. Being human and the owner of a large apartment complex, the landlady assisted in every moment she could spare, and he was extremely grateful for it. Maybe there was something he could do to repay her for her kindness...

Well, once Dita and him sorted the whole government thing out. They couldn't really do much being fugitives and all.

Light footsteps echoed from the entrance, signaling Ms. Hibiya's return to the lab. Her long denim skirt rustled around as she made her way around the chair.

"How is she doing?"

"Much better." He admitted. "I need to debug these last couple of files and she'll be able to wake again."

Mr. Keyboard groaned in protest against the constant pounding. The print already worn off on some keys, and instead of the loud "click" it once made, it was reduced to a pitiful tapping noise--but the important thing was that the keyboard still worked. It was borderline computer abuse- which struck him as odd and sadistically amusing at the same time. Technically Mr. Keyboard was a distant relative.

And it was harsh to say it, but if he had to choose between Dita and Mr. Keyboard, his smaller, adorable, _almost awake_ partner would win his vote by far. By _unbelievably_ far. Like if he could trade the keyboard in right now, he would do it without a second thought. He could always steal another keyboard and give it to Ms. Hibiya anyway.

Well, not that he could. All he had to do was another five pages of debugging. Five more pages...

A hand pressed against his shoulder, and he looked up to Ms. Hibiya's concerned face.

"I can take over for the rest. You haven't had any time to sleep, had you? Your battery must be low by now."

It was dangerously low. Normally they had time to rest on missions, not to mention copious amounts of solar energy from lounging on rooftops. He'd been awake, in a windowless, dark room, for a whole 48 hour period.

He looked helplessly at Dita's soft face, then to the computer monitor, with the five pages filled with sequenced numbers and letters.

"It would do you good to sleep." Ms. Hibiya nudged, "Dita needs to fully recharge anyway. She wouldn't want to know you've run yourself dry, right?"

...Damn.

"...Just for a while wouldn't hurt." Zima reluctantly handed the abused keyboard to the landlady in defeat. He knew that if he finished, he would end up using the rest of his energy watching over Dita until she recharged. It really wouldn't be practical to stay up...

He stood from his chair (Mrs. Hibiya graciously brought it down for him the first night) and with one last look at Dita, dragged himself to the stairs.

"There is an extra futon in the closet." She called after the tall persocom. He waved his hand in response, and climbed the up steps to the living room. The entrance hummed and slid shut.

Ms. Hibiya sat in Zima's previous fold-up chair, rearranged the used keyboard in her lap, and scanned over the last bits of code. The past two days had certainly taken a toll on her. With keeping up on the apartment complex and shooing away the harmless, but unknowing people away from her apartment, she had little time to eat or sleep. Five pages seemed like nothing compared to that. Besides, Dita needed the help, and coding like this reminded her so much of when they were programming Elda.

But seeing Zima work so hard to save Dita brought back memories of when Freya was breaking down. Maybe a little to much.

It touched her heart, and Chitose found herself pressing harder to get the time and help Dita. She understood every moment Zima was going through, all the pain, the desperation. Failure was not an acceptable outcome. Not this time.

The former engineer checked the remaining pages thoroughly, and for the next hour, she picked and rewrote out the bugs, knowing that even the minor flaws could be a major problem.

Finally, Dita was completely functional. It was time for her plan.

Chitose typed in the shut down command in the prompt, shutting down Dita's OS, and allowed her battery to charge. Thank goodness the generator had the same power as the main electrical outlet she had been previously connected to. If the electricity bill went farther than normal, and the government caught wind and put the clues together, they would have all been in a tough situation.

Ten minutes passed by, Chitose decided it was just enough to last a few minutes. She unplugged the cable to the generator, careful not to bump the other cords. Her fingers tapped the command to restart.

--

Black. Everything was black. Hazy. Her vision input wasn't online yet.

Her eyes were closed. She needed to know her surroundings. She had to open them.

...Heavy? When did her body grow so heavy? She barely moved her eyelids.

Ah, her battery was almost dead. She could only open her eyes halfway.

Computer monitors. Lots of them.

Computer monitors?! What happened to the hacker? Zima?! Did they take her back to the lab? She had to get out of here and find Zima! She had to _move!_

"It's okay, Dita." A female voice soothed and patted her hair. Her hand was warm. Whoever it was, she was human. "You're safe. Zima is upstairs."

The lady moved into her line of sight, and Dita calmed. This lady...was Mrs. Mihara? This was her lab?

"Mi-ha-ra...?" Dita struggled to pronounce. She didn't have enough energy to speak.

The woman looked surprised.

"No one has called me that in a long time, dear." The former Mrs. Mihara sat in front of her. "I've gone by my maiden name since he passed away. It's Chitose Hibiya now."

Hibiya. She should have remembered that. She had forgotten somehow.

"Zima brought you here after you were attacked. We cleaned the virus out of your system, but there were some programs and files that we couldn't save. One of them," Ms. Hibiya continued with a worried look on her face, "Was your priorities matrix."

Priorities matrix...it wasn't there...why did her chest feel heavier?

"I'm sure you know what this means." The lady folded her hands together in her lap. "Since you are no longer bound by the government, most of the priorities you've lost are irrelevant...This includes the need to protect the National Data Bank. Dita, you are now one of the very few persocoms that are not bound to anyone or anything. You can start off with a clean slate."

Clean slate...

It meant her job was over. She wasn't entitled to protect Zima.

She wanted to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes. Hopefully she wouldn't wake up this time.

"Wait, dear." Ms. Hibiya interrupted her. "This may seem like your purpose in life is over, but it may not be. I believe that you do have a purpose...you just have to find it, and understand it."

Ms. Hibiya slipped something into her glove.

"If you absolutely cannot find it, then use this as your last resort. However, you must remember the consequences of your actions; you are not the only one it will affect."

Dita couldn't keep her eyes open. They closed, and her system shut down on it's own.

--

Zima fell out of his sleep mode, when something gently shook his shoulder. He sat up from the futon, blankly noting the light shining through the blinds. Ms. Hibiya's smiling face greeted him.

"Good morning Ms. Hibiya. Is she awake?"

"She's asleep, but I think she should be fine. Go ahead and see her. Oh--don't worry about the futon, I'll get it."

"Thank you. For everything." Zima stood and bowed to her, then hurried down the stairs. In a few quick steps he reached the chair where Dita slept, and tenderly, hesitantly, cupped her chin in his hand. He could feel her exhale

"Dita." He breathed, as if it were the first time he called her name. "Dita!"

Slowly she opened her eyes, and blinked once. Her vision focused on him, and she gave him a confused glance.

"Zima..."

Before she had the chance to move, Zima scooped her into a hug, laughing gratefully at her small action. Dita loosely tugged his shirt (...where was his coat? Or his boots for that matter) and rested her head against his chest.

"Hey..." God, she felt so disoriented. Most of her programs were the same, but it worked _different_ from before. Like the pathways in her mind were reconnected to different places. What did they do...?

"We're in Ms. Hibiya's computer room. She helped us out with the virus in your OS." Her taller partner whistled. "They really made a nasty one, Dita."

"The virus!" Dita exclaimed. Zima might have had the virus still in him! She pushed him back and reached for her ear ports.

...Her rather large, oddly shaped ear ports. She reached up to touch the obtrusions, feeling the hardened plastic molds, and gave Zima a look.

She knew that devilish smile from anywhere.

"You didn't." Dita accused. Zima wasn't cruel enough to give her those horrific ears Elda had. No way...

"I did. They were all we had at the time." He took her hand and kissed her gloved fingers. Something warm sparked in her chest from the touch and she pulled her fingers away from him in surprise. Hopefully he didn't notice her odd reaction.

"I would have rather suffered." The smaller persocom retorted and tried to ignore the sensation. Another side effect from the virus, maybe? She'd have to run her own virus check later.

"Sorry, love. I don't think I could have dealt with that." He replied, unplugging the remaining cables from her ear ports. The jerk didn't look apologetic at all! "Besides, they look cute on you."

"'Cute' is not a valid excuse to give me these..._things_!" She flatly exclaimed.

"Ah, did I come at the wrong time?" Someone asked from behind, and Dita turned around to the familiar voice.

Ms. Hibiya stood a few feet away, smiling.

"No, it's fine." Zima grinned back to the lady.

Dita was seized with a different pressure this time, almost as if her core added on extra weight. Ms. Hibiya's conversation flooded her head and she found herself standing up and turning towards the woman.

"Ms. Hibiya..." She wanted to ask about so many things. What was in the thumb drive? How was she going to find her purpose? But the words never came. All she could do was bow politely in thanks.

"Thank you for your time." The smaller persocom said, knowing that Zima was watching her closely.

"Don't worry, dear. Everything will be all right." Ms. Hibiya smiled. Dita could practically hear the unsaid conversation as they traded looks between them.

"Everything will be more than all right." Zima scooped her up into his arms bridal style, earning a muffled shriek from her, and headed towards the stairs. Ms. Hibiya watched the pair in amusement.

"S-stop! I can walk on my own!"

"But you're so adorable! I don't want to let you go!"

"What are you talking about?! Zima! That's enough, just put me down!"

The landlady picked up a spare part from the discarded metal tray, examining it as her thoughts strayed to her beloved.

She believed in those kids. In _all _of their children.


	7. Drain Away

**An:** Hello again! It's almost Halloween all ready, and things have been really picking up around my house. I apologize for the delay--I've barely had enough time to sit down and write the chapter until recently. As for **Networker**, I'm so sorry I haven't been keeping in touch! I'll PM you as soon as I can!

Like in chapter five, this chapter's title name is only vaguely connected. _Dir En Grey_'s "Drain Away" is a mildly quick-paced hard rock song, one of which (to me) sets the tone for this chapter. The lyrics don't really have much of a connection to the chapter, sadly (or maybe gratefully? This song is supposedly about a girl, a carnival, and a murder 0o;; )

**Misreckoning**

_"These glasses are pretty nifty." Zima exclaimed, leaning his back against the railing. Curiosity got the better of him today and instead of "looking for the target", he ended up checking out the functionality of his high-tech sunglasses. So far he could surf the internet, access the government database, even track individual persocoms on a real-time GPS unit. Now if he could tweak the code a little, he might be able to make it a basic hacking device. Not that he would be able to use it against a genuine hacker, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he could make it into one if he wished._

_"You better be looking for the girl, you slacker." Dita looked over her own special pair of glasses, at him._

_"You know me too well." He mock-sighed, bowing his head like a scolded child. Dita rested her hand on her hip and pulled her glasses off._

_"What are you doing, then?"_

_"Ah," He grinned mischievously, "I'm trying to make it hack into random computers."_

_He was mildly surprised when his partner held her hand out. _

_"Give it to me," She commanded, "I can figure something out." _

_Zima pulled them off and folded them up, dropping them onto her palm without a second thought._

_"You're interested in this?" He asked as if to tease her for her curiosity, but secretly he enjoyed the fact that she wanted to do something that didn't relate to their mission._

_"It can't hurt. If I can tweak it properly then you can use it to protect yourself against smaller threats,"_

_Dita slipped them on. She paused, frowning, before she stumbled into him and lost her balance. It took him a moment to realize she was asleep._

_"Now that's interesting..." He mused. Could her own sunglasses do that as well, or was it just this specific pair? One of these days he'd have to find out...when she wasn't paying attention._

_Zima pulled the glasses off of her, and she revived almost instantly._

_Oh, she wasn't happy..._

_"Your glasses forced me into hibernation!" She exclaimed indignantly, "I didn't even get the chance to look at what it was doing!" _

_"Well then, I guess I'm on my own. I'm sure I can figure something out." He shrugged nonchalantly. Dita pushed the glasses into his hands and crossed her arms._

_"Theres' no need," She huffed, "I can protect you from those second-rate wannabe programmers any day, even if it is a waste of our time." _

_"Someone's a little testy from their nap today," _

_"Be quiet!" She snapped back in a fury. "Let's continue searching, like what _we're supposed to be doing._" _

_So they did. Only this time he was interrupted by one of those so-called "second-rate hackers"._

_He almost felt sorry for them by the time Dita finished kicking them out._

**Chapter Seven: Drain Away **_Dir En Grey)_

This was pathetic.

Here she was, lying dejectedly on the futon, staring at the snow white ceiling while Ms. Hibiya slept in her own bedroom and _he _wandered the streets, _alone._ He had no protection on him save the few minor anti-virus software installed within him as a last resort. Anyone may attempt a break-in at any moment, literally in broad daylight, and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

He must have known. There was no way he couldn't. Maybe it was part of the reason he left her here.

Dita covered her eyes with her arm, blocking out the sunlight from the windows. She gritted her teeth and scowled at nothing, though she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the thought that caused her reaction, or another side effect of losing vital information. She already lost her Priorities matrix, and upon her later inspection, one of the major hacker programs she commonly used. Not only had she become purposeless, but also half efficient in what she was made for.

Ms. Hibiya didn't have the knowledge to save her alone. She had outside help. Zima's help.

Zima _knew_!

Dita pounded her fists against the soft material and jerked herself upright, scowling harder at her own thoughts.

"This isn't getting anywhere." She muttered underneath her breath, and glared at the half-closed blinds.

The sunlight streamed through, hitting Dita's figure, warming the sensors underneath her skin. If she didn't think about it, then that stupid ache would go away and she could think _rationally._

"What isn't?"

Dita jumped at the foreign voice and twisted around to see the intruder.

"Elda!" She snapped, noticing the persocom's long ebony hair and white sun dress. The door stood slightly ajar behind her. How did she enter without Dita knowing?

Elda took a few steps toward the futon and knelt beside her, placing the small tray of rice balls on the floor.

"My name is Chi. What's yours?" She smiled. Dita frowned both at the fellow persocom's behavior and the fact that she had mistaken yet another name.

"...You don't remember me?" And maybe it was for the best if Chi didn't remember. How was Dita going to convince Chi to forget she was even here?

"You were there at that time with the other me...right? You were with the other persocom." Chi reached over and pulled lightly on Dita's ear ports, still smiling. "You have the same ears as us!"

"Please don't do that." Dita pulled the girl's hands off in mild irritation. What was with people and these ears? "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Chi shook her head. "Ms. Hibiya said that 'everything is over' and you won't harm me. Do you want me to be afraid of you?"

Dita didn't have an answer for that, and wasn't sure if she needed one. Maybe it was best to change the subject.

"Are you here to see Ms. Hibiya?" Dita asked the blond persocom. The sooner Chi left, the better.

"Yes," She nodded, just as Dita expected, "Ms. Hibiya hasn't been around in a few days, so Hideki and I made her some food." Chi pointed to the covered rice balls. "Is she sick?"

"No, she's just tired. She's sleeping right now, so if you want to leave them here, I can give them to her when she wakes."

Chi's smile fell as Dita ended her sentence, staring at her face. Dita edged backwards toward the wall.

"What?" She asked wearily. It was like Chi was reading her eyes, or her mind. It made her nervous, as if she was a cornered mouse to a hungry cat.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. Why?" What brought this up? Was Chi talking about the virus, or something else?

"You look like you're in a lot of pain." The Chobit moved closer, much to Dita's dismay.

"I'm not!" Dita shook her head quickly, but that aching, gnawing sensation came back again, harder than ever. "Persocoms don't have emotions anyway, so it wouldn't matter even if I was in pain!"

Chi placed her hands over her chest and closed her eyes.

"Even though Chi is a persocom, Chi loves Hideki." The legendary persocom began. A soft smile played on the Chobit's lips. "I have many other feelings too. Happiness, sadness, the pain when someone important from me is away, I feel them all. Even if it is just a program, if someone believes in my emotions, doesn't it make them real?"

"That's pointless," Dita spat in defense, "We're not alive."

"Then why do you look upset?"

"Because...!" Because this stupid ache wouldn't go away and the _Chobit_ wouldn't stop asking useless questions that she couldn't understand, Zima's _still_ away and she didn't know if he would come back, or even if he _wanted_ to come back--who wanted a useless persocom anyway? She didn't know how to process all these signals that apparently she had all along, but without any data in her Priorities matrix, or even any instructions regarding these very-familiar yet completely new bits of information, or their _annoying_ side effects that came with it. They were 'coms! It made them different than humans, because humans had flesh and blood and chemicals while persocoms were metal and wires and electricity, what kind of feelings could come of that?!

"I'm sorry," Chi picked up the plate from the floor and stood. "I've made you upset. I'll go now." She set the rice balls on the end-table and bowed to Dita.

"I'm sorry. I hope you feel better."

Dita refused to look up until the door closed with a soft _click_ and the soft patting of Chi's footsteps trailed off into the hallway.

...And she couldn't sleep.

---

"You weren't seriously thinking that a disguise like that would keep us from finding you?"

Zima grinned dangerously, kicking small pebbles on the ground with his slightly worn brown leather work boots, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"Really? I thought it was quite fail proof." He replied sarcastically, noting his surroundings-- a small park in the city, devoid of people. The person before him had short black hair, brown eyes, a little taller than the average person, but still not as tall as him. He recognized this person: one of the tracking and development specialists from the lab.

"Sorry, the headphones gave it away. Nobody wears those ancient things anymore."

"It looks like I'm not the only one who's behind in the times." Zima glanced at the old-fashioned laptop bag at the man's hip, "You're the one who hacked in to Dita, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged. I admit Dita was a formidable opponent, but once you found her weak point and the right strategy, she fell easily. " The man patted the bag smugly, an action that set Zima's self-control to the limit. Funny, he never wanted to punch someone in the face before.

"Where's your partner?" Zima changed the subject, keeping his tone cool, trying his best not to look how he felt on the inside. He couldn't afford to give any information away, and the more he hid from them, or at least this man, the easier it would be on Zima's part.

"That little trip she had ended up cracking her cranium mold and jolted a few things loose. She's being fixed up in the lab right now." The man rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a cigarette carton. He picked out the first cigarette in the front row and stuffed the box back into his shirt pocket.

"That's where my partner is. Where's the rest of yours?"

The King of Persocoms held his tongue. He must not do anything rash, no matter how tempting it was or how sickly satisfying it would be to see the man's brains fried as he'd done to Dita. He had to wait it out. Now wasn't the _time_.

The man brought his lighter out and Zima listened to the small sounds of flint scratching together and the flame bursting from the sparks. Taking a drag from the cigarette, the man mistook Zima's silence as a signal to continue.

"Come on, it's time to go back. Leave your partner where she is. Dita's useless now anyways, so there's no point sticking around."

"Not even her remains? Isn't that a waste of governmental property?" Not good, his control was slipping and that stark comment was sure to go noticed.

As expected, the man rose his eyebrow and flicked the ash off the burning stick, eying him for the slightest inconsistency.

"This is why you should never make connections with your coworkers regarding our line of work. I know you're intelligent: Think this through. You're in no danger when it comes to the government. We _need_ you. Why make an enemy of us over one persocom that we could easily replace?"

"Have you ever thought it was the sucky hours and the lousy benefits?"

Grinning crookedly, the man exhaled. The streams of carbon dioxide rose and assimilated into the air. Zima smelt the bitter tobacco as the cigarette continued to burn.

"Touché. But that isn't the point. You have to come back to the lab, right now, and preferably in a non-violent fashion."

He was four steps away from the man, one and a half seconds away from his target, and if he waited just a little more, two, _one_--

The ash fell onto the concrete, and Zima lunged towards the man, ducking low to aim just above his hip. With a grunt, his target sidestepped away and dug into his pockets. A loud ringing noise blared into Zima's head and he knelt to the ground in pain.

"Dammit, I told you not to fight!" The man cursed as he pulled out a small rectangular trigger. The half-used cigarette lay smoldering on the ground beside him.

"Just because I'm human doesn't necessarily mean I have a lower intelligence." He moved closer, and Zima gritted his teeth as he struggled to properly see him through the noise.

"Don't worry," The persocom growled, "I wasn't planning on it!"

In one swift motion Zima reached up and grappled the bag, pulling the strap with his other hand and listened to the sharps sounds of course fabric ripping apart. He rolled away and bounded to his feet while the noise berated his head. The laptop case dangled from his hand.

"Thank you," Zima grinned despite himself and the awful headache, "You've made this a little easier for me."

"God-damn, I didn't think you could stand up against the jammer." Stomping on the burnt tobacco stick, the man tossed the jammer to the concrete and reached into his pockets again.

"This is your last chance. It won't be so easy from here on out."

The persocom looked down to the device, then to the irritated man, and decided his next course of action.

"Is that so? I 'd better rethink my plan, shouldn't I?" Zima turned and ran, not bothering to look back.

---

Zima slipped into the apartment building an hour later, carefully checking for any tenants before roaming down the hallways to Mrs. Hibiya's apartment. He may have been in his "normal" clothes, but it couldn't hurt to be a little on edge. The agent gave him enough excitement for a day; he didn't need another close encounter.

The door opened to Ms. Hibiya's apartment, and Zima paused until he saw the kind woman close the door behind her. She smiled up at him in greeting.

"Welcome back." She said, "I'm going to return this dish, so I'll be out for a while. Please make yourself at home."

"Thank you." They bowed to each other, and the tall persocom watched Ms. Hibiya walk away for a moment before opening the door. Somehow it seemed she knew everything, and at the same time held only a limited amount of knowledge with their escape. It confused him, but he supposed it was another human trait that never made sense to the world.

Entering, he spotted Dita lying curled up on the futon, asleep. Zima smiled fondly before bending over and gently pushing away the bangs from her closed eyes. She stirred from sleep mode and blinked her eyes.

"Good afternoon, love. Did you sleep well?"

Dita rubbed her eyes, something she never usually did, and sat up.

"You're back," She lifted her fingers to the latch of her ear-port, and hesitated. "Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

"I ran into a little trouble on the way, but it wasn't much. I picked up a souvenir on the way too." He lifted the laptop in response, and Dita's eyes fell to the bag, almost dazed.

Zima frowned. He sat on the floor and placed the laptop beside him, focusing his attention on Dita.

"Are _you_ okay?"

The smaller persocom kept her head bowed, and a heavy silence came over them. The worst started to fill his thoughts as each second passed by, and he called out her name again.

"Dita-"

Lightning fast, she took his hands and pressed them hard to the floor with her own as she leaned close to him, her hair brushing the dark blue material of his t-shirt.

"_I'm sorry!_" She cried out at the floor, almost as if looking him in the eyes would be treason, "All this time you've wasted on saving me, and I can't even protect you!" Dita's whole figure shivered, "I don't even know what's going on in my own head anymore! I'm _useless and I'm so sorry!_"

He lifted his hands from underneath hers, watching her shakily inhale from the movement. Zima wrapped his arms, slowly, carefully, around her waist and pulled her against him.

"You're not useless, so stop apologizing. You're _mine,_" He purred soothingly against her soft hair, "And I love you."

Dita flung her arms around and held onto him as if the floor was falling.

_To be continued..._


	8. Cat and Mouse

**An:** W-why hello there --;;. So...uh, it's been a while and the chapter might not be up to par...but at least it's up? It's been what? More than six months since I wrote? I had the sudden inspiration to do this chapter. I hope it turned out okay...Oh, but this means that _Misreckoning_ hit the 8th chapter, which means that this may be the second fanfic that I might be able to complete!

**Misreckoning**

_"Look at all this damage. It's hard to believe she did this herself." Dita kicked the rubble in front of her feet. It was once some sort of adult entertainment facility, but it was now just a heap of steel, concrete, and glass. What _she_ was doing here was beyond Dita's knowledge, but it was a clue; it was one step closer to accomplishing their mission. _

She_ was nearby. _

_"And imagine, this is the work of just one persocom." Zima added, picking up a fragment of the building to examine. "It's amazing that no one was hurt during the explosion. Quite a feat, if you ask me."_

_"That girl isn't just playing around this time." She continued to rummage through the debris for more clues. Her fingers snagged a buried piece of cloth, and she tugged it out from the wreckage. She held it up to reveal the short dress before discarding it behind her. _

_"That's why we're going after her instead of someone else. They figure if we did it once, we can do it again."_

_"We have to do it again, or else the entire city will go into chaos." She turned to face him, "We have to stop her, no matter what."_

_Zima tossed the rock over his shoulder and looked to the sky._

_"'No matter what'..."_

**Chapter Eight: Cat and Mouse **_(Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)_

"Good afternoon, Chi." Chitose greeted her once daughter as the door swung open. "Thank you for the rice balls, they were delicious."

"Chi is happy Ms. Hibiya enjoyed them." The persocom replied with a bow. She took the clean plate from the landlady's hands and offered her to come in the cozy apartment. Ms. Hibiya gratefully accepted and stepped inside, smiling at the living space Hideki and Chi shared.

"Where is Hideki?" She asked, noticing the absence of the college boy.

"Hideki is doing the laundry today. I asked if I could help, but he said he could do it himself. Chi washed the dishes instead."

Soft clinks of china sounded from the kitchen as Chi prepared a cup of tea for her guest. Ms. Hibiya placed herself in front of the small dining table, listening to the comforting noises. It reminded her of earlier days, when she used to make tea for her and her busy husband . She missed those times, but she supposed that was what made them special.

"I'm sure Hideki is very happy." Chitose murmured as Chi set down the tray before them. Her daughter tilted her head in confusion before placing the cup in front of her.

"Are you feeling better, Ms. Hibiya?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to worry you and Hideki." Chitose took the cup of tea in her hands, "It's been a busy few days for me. I've just been tired, that's all."

"Chi is glad Ms. Hibiya is better...is that persocom okay too?"

The landlady gazed down into her drink, juggling the facts around in her mind. If the government were to track the renegade persocoms down, then the whole apartment complex would be searched, possibly even other persocoms' memory banks as well. The moment Chi spoke to Dita was the moment she became a liability.

"Dita is in a delicate position right now, but I'm sure she'll be okay. There is something she has to decide on her own." She replied honestly, watching the ripples spread through and hit the ceramic.

"Is it about the person just for her?"

"No, that's not quite it." Ms. Hibiya looked at her, puzzled. "Why do you say that?"

Chi frowned and gazed back to Ms. Hibiya earnestly.

"She looked very lonely."

Chitose blinked at the statement and had to pause her thinking. She found it amazing that Chi could pick up on body language so easily nowadays--especially on another persocom such as Dita.

Chi was still growing up every day, in a sense. Chitose couldn't help but smile.

"She must be struggling against her programming." _Even though it was _erased. It must have been Dita's recovered memories, and possibly some of her lesser significant programs still conflicted her thought processes. It wouldn't have made sense to a human being either, if suddenly a person thought with a completely new perspective with no recollection of how or why their mind thought differently. "She needs time to figure it out."

Ms. Hibiya sipped the warm drink with a heavy question weighing in her mind.

"Chi, dear, could you keep Dita a secret? Please don't tell anyone that she was here, or that you've seen her."

At first the persocom looked as if she were going to ask "why", but then shifted her gaze to the table and fell silent.

"I will not tell anyone that Dita was in Ms. Hibiya's apartment."

"Thank you, Chi. It will help them a lot."

"Ms. Hibiya," Chi started again, looking straight into the lady's eyes, "What does that persocom have to decide? Didn't you say 'everything is over'...?"

"Yes, everything is over for _you_, Chi. I should have realized what those kids would have to go through if they failed to do what the government wanted them for."

"Chi?"

Ms. Hibiya distracted her gaze to the balcony windows, absently watching the clouds roll across the sky. She didn't mean to ask, and it was more of a hypothetical question to herself, but the words slipped out of her mouth.

"Elda, do you think your father might have seen this coming?"

The door swung open, and in stepped Hideki Motosuwa, lugging a giant laundry bag over his shoulder. He haphazardly slipped off his shoes as the weight of the clothes shifted his center of balance. The landlady covered her mouth as she smiled at the little scene. Chi stood from the table to greet him.

"Welcome home, Hideki!"

"I'm back, Chi! Hey, have you seen my one shirt and pants? I couldn't find them anywhere-" The frazzled boy glanced over to the table, where he spotted the unexpected guest. "O-oh! Good afternoon Ms. Hibiya! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"Good afternoon, Hideki. It's really no problem, I'm the one who's intruding, after all." Chitose turned and bowed.

"You're not intruding at all! To be honest, Chi and I were a little worried about you, Ms. Hibiya. I hope you liked the rice balls, I know I'm not much of a cook, and Chi had to help me out..." Hideki trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at Chi with a helpless look.

"Ms. Hibiya brought back the dish." Chi explained, smiling.

"Thank you both, they were wonderful." Chitose added. "So, how is school?"

--

"Love, shouldn't you be resting?" Zima entered the living room, back in his usual attire. He had only left for a moment to change, and Dita was all ready unbuckling the laptop bag on the floor.

"You said you brought something back." She almost said she was curious, but that wouldn't have made sense. "It's better if we look at this now. We don't have time to mess around."

A surge of disorientation struck her and she grimaced at the dizziness, leaning heavily on one arm while she continued to pull the object out of the bag. It appeared to be an older laptop, complete with a thin titanium shell and outdated logo on the top. She unlatched the monitor and pulled it up, studying the partially faded keys.

Zima closed the screen before she could touch anything else.

"I don't think so, love. You still need rest." He replied to her tired glare.

"I can rest when all of this is over." She retorted, ignoring another dizzy spell. "This is more important." She grabbed Zima's hand to move it off of the computer, but he shifted it to lace his fingers with hers.

"No, Dita. You are more important right now."

"I'm fine." She lied in a futile attempt to continue."I'm just a little low on energy, that's all."

"That's not all. You lost a lot of programs." Zima pressed, "Your OS is trying to operate without them. Love, you look like you're about to pass out at any minute. Your priorities are a little mixed up."

"I don't have any priorities, remember?" She snapped half-heartedly, "Those were corrupted with everything else."

"Sure, you have priorities. You've already decided that the computer is more important than your own body." He grinned. "It kind of makes me glad. Not that I'd want you to sacrifice yourself for that outdated thing, but it means you're well enough to make those decisions. You're so cute when you're determined to do something."

"Stop teasing me and let me crack into the laptop." Dita reached for the latch, but Zima pushed against the cover in retaliation.

"No."

"_Zima._" She growled as a wave of dizziness hit. "The government isn't going to just sit back and take their time while I recover. Let me crack into the stupid thing!"

"I was serious. You shouldn't be doing anything until you feel better. If you put anymore strain on your system right now, you might break down again." He grimaced. " And I don't want to see that happen a second time."

Dita looked down at the laptop, then back to him, and hesitated. She took her hand away from the latch and nudged the computer towards Zima.

"Fine."

"Thank you, love." He put the computer back into the laptop bag and shoved it aside.

It was just...hadn't she been sitting around for long enough? Of course she wasn't expecting her system to instantly recollect itself, but with all the time they were wasting, the government had to have a lead on them by now. They were putting themselves in danger by staying here alone.

But she lost the argument over the laptop. Zima said he was worried about her, and she stopped because he looked like it _hurt_ him. Knowing that it hurt him made the dizziness worse, and she couldn't believe she was thinking this, but it made her feel _guilty_.

"I hate doing nothing." She chirped without thinking. Zima chuckled and gave her a small kiss on the lips.

"I know." He smiled as he brushed his thumb against her cheek. She felt the warmth of his fingers even though her entire system was hazy, like it was the only sensation that existed for the moment, besides the lingering pressure on her lips.

Something was definitely wrong with her. He kissed her all the time, and she never reacted..._felt_ this intense before, as if she was jolted with electricity. Her temperature must have risen considerably..but her breathing became shallow, almost like the very act was a disturbance. She untangled her fingers from his and without knowing what she was doing or why she was doing it, gently held his head in her hands.

"Zima...I..." She whispered, close enough to feel his own shallow breath against her face. She couldn't finish her sentence. She had no idea what to say or what she even wanted to say, not when he was staring at her with that _look_ on his face. All she knew was that Zima understood what she was doing, and he wasn't stopping her.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his in a slow kiss.

He snaked his arms around her body and tugged her as close to him as he possibly could, earning a surprised squeak from Dita. He burrowed his chin into the crook of her neck and exhaled deeply.

"Dita, you don't know how long I've waited for you to do that. When you broke I thought I might have never had the chance." Zima's voice sounded like it was strained as he whispered into her ear port. "I love you so much...You don't know how happy you make me..."

"Zima..." She returned the embrace, resting her head against his, letting all the confusing signals go for the moment. She at least knew what one of them meant.

It was at that moment that Dita had understood the feeling of happiness.

_To be continued..._


End file.
